Crystals Of Tranquility
by BlazingStarz
Summary: Shadow notices a disturbance in the air. He must find out what caused it and fix it. He teams up with friend, Rouge and together, they go on a long journey. But just who are the hooded figures that keep showing up everywhere? Rated T for violence.
1. Chapter 1 Hooded mysteries

**Crystals Of Tranquility**

* * *

Yeah, so I decided to make another story. Why? I'm just getting a little bit bored with Sonic Truth Or Dare Tournament. Anyway, this is not a ShadowxRouge fic. They are just mission partners and friends. Got that? Please don't ask me to put Shadouge in it. The answer will be no. If I decide to put romance in, it will be Knuxouge. Hope you enjoy it!

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Sonic Team. I only own my OCs._

* * *

Chapter 1. Hooded mysteries

"... And then we danced all night!" Rouge was saying.

Shadow was in Club Rouge, sitting at a small table in the corner of the room. The room was huge, it had a big dance-floor with a disco ball above it. The DJ was on a platform, playing the music. There was a neon sign above her and it read 'Club Rouge: It's the place to be'. The bar was on the left side of the entrance, near to where they were sitting. It really _was_ the place to be.

He was talking to the owner of the club, Rouge. She was talking about how Diva Night went last night. Diva Night was when they played the best girly songs of all time. It happened every month.

"So, what've you been up to then, hun?" She asked.

"Not much." He mumbled. "Anything happened here while I was gone?"  
Rouge started to look a bit worried. "Well, there is one thing..." Shadow nodded at her to continue. "You see, every day for almost five days, these people come in. Strange people."

Shadow frowned. "What kind of strange?"

"They wear hooded black robes, so you can't see their faces." She replied.

"Hmmm..." Shadow concentrated. "They sound like trouble."

Rouge nodded. "Yeah, that's why I want you to stay the night." Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Please? I need you to see them!"

Shadow sighed. "Fine. Just one night won't hurt, I guess..."

Rouge clapped her hands. "Good! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to dance with my loyal customers!" She then winked and walked away.

Shadow groaned. 'Just when I needed some relaxation, something else comes up! I bet I won't even get a bed, probably have to sleep on the couch.'

He decided to go over to the bar, maybe get a drink. Nothing alcoholic, he didn't want to be drunk if the 'hooded people' came in. While he walked over there, he noticed what Rouge had done to the place since he last visited. She'd put up lots of neon signs, saying things like 'bar' or 'bathroom'. He also saw that she was now serving things like chips or burgers.

When he got to the bar, he saw a red echidna. She rolled his eyes. 'Just the place where Knuckles would be.' He thought.

Knuckles turned around. "Yo, Shadow!" He called. "It's been a while, huh?"

"Heh, I guess so." Shadow replied.

"So, where you been all this time?"

He shrugged. "Here and there."

Knuckles sighed. "In other words, you don't want anyone to know."

Shadow nodded.

Knuckles remembered something. "Oh yeah! Did Rouge tell you the good news?"

He shook his head. "No, what?"

"I live and work here now!" He replied.

Shadow's eyes widened. "You idiot!" He hissed.

Knuckles looked confused. "What?"

"What about the Master Emerald? It's your job to guard it!"

He shrugged. "Oh, that. Tails has taken care of it. He put an electrical shield around it. Anyone who touches it, gets a nasty shock. However, if I touch it, it doesn't hurt me." He explained. "And anyway, I was getting mighty bored up ther by myself, guarding it."

Shadow shook his head. "Ah well. I guess as long as it's safe... But if it gets stolen, you're getting the blame!"

Knuckles rolled his eyes. "Pfft, yeah right. Like that'll happen!"

"It could..." Shadow trailed off. Then shook himself. "Anyway, has anything... _strange_ happened recently?"

Knuckles thought for a moment. "Well, now that you mention it, there have been some hooded people coming in recently. They look strange, and like trouble."

Shadow looked interested. "And what do they do?"

He shrugged. "Just sit at the same table, every day. They stay for around twenty minutes, then they just leave."

Shadow frowned. "Rouge told me about them too. That's why I'm staying the night. I want to see them myself."

Knuckles shrugged again. "You'll be on a couch." He warned.

"It doesn't matter. I've been worse. A lot worse."

* * *

Later that night...

Shadow was sitting at the table with Rouge again, this time Knuckles had joined them. They were drinking some soda. They didn't want to get drunk tonight.

Rouge looked at her watch. "They'll be coming soon." She informed them.

"How do you know?" Knuckles asked.

"They always come at the same time, 10:30pm. Dead on." She replied.

"Hmph, seems like they're up to something." Shadow said.

The door to the entrance opened and two figures walked in. They were wearing hooded black robes so you couldn't see their faces.

"It's them!" Rouge whispered.

Shadow looked over to the door. Sure enough, he saw the figures. They walked over to a table next to them and sat down. Shadow decided to create a conversation.

"So, uh... how's everyone been?" He asked.

Knuckles shrugged. "Not bad. Eggman is no more."

Rouge nodded. "Yeah, apparently he had a major heart attack. Sonic went over to his base the other week and found him laying dead on the floor." She shuddered. "Must've been terrible for him to see someone lose to him dead. Sure, he was evil but... he did kind of help us a couple of times."

"He took him to the hospital." Knuckles went on. "The doctors said that he died of a heart attack. Probably because he was overweight."

Rouge started to look uneasy. Shadow sensed it.

"What's up?" He whispered.

"The figures... they keep glancing over here!" She replied worriedly.

Shadow looked over to the figures. They were whispering about something too. He strained his ears to listen but he only picked up snippets of their conversation.

"...The one... prophecy... treasure..."

He couldn't make out what they were talking about.

"What are they saying?" Rouge asked.

Shadow frowned. "Something like 'the one', a prophecy and treasure."

Rouge gasped. "They're after my treasure!"

Shadow chuckled. "I don't think that's it, Rouge."

She rolled her eyes. "It's possible."

"But probably not true!" Knuckles interrupted.

The figures suddenly got up and walked to the door. Shadow jumped up as they reached the door, intending to follow them. When he go to the door, they were gone. Like they had just vanished into thin air.

He frowned. How could they have gone that quick? He slowly walked back to the table where Rouge and Knuckles sat there, confused.

"What was all that about?" Rouge asked.

"I was going to follow them." Shadow explained. "But when I got outside, they had gone!"

"What, like just disappeared? Into thin air?" Knuckles asked.

Shadow nodded. "Yeah. Not even I could go that quick... unless they had a chaos emerald."

Rouge frowned. "But we have all of them! Sonic has the red, blue and dark blue ones..."

"And I have the purple, green, silver and yellow ones." Shadow finished.

"Can't you teleport in any other way?" Knuckles asked.

Shadow shook his head. "No... at least, not that I know of."

"But you might still be able to?" Rouge pressed.

Shadow shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe they had a device." He shook his head. "We're never going to find out."

Rouge sighed. "It's time to close the club anyway. Knuckles, can you help the bar clear up as usual?"

Knuckles nodded. "Sure."

"Should I help?" Shadow asked.

Rouge shook her head. "No, you can go and check out the apartment upstairs. Here's the key." She handed him a silver key and walked away.

* * *

Shadow walked up the stairs and unlocked the door. Once he got inside, he smiled. Rouge's apartment was filled with luxury items.

The couches were made of real black leather, must've costed her a fortune. Her kitchen/diner had a small table draped in a soft red cloth and her appliances were the best you could get. He walked over to a rather large bedroom. It had a king sized canopy bed with red satin bedsheets and curtains to go around the bed. She had a massive vanity which he noticed was full of makeup and jewelery. Her wardrobe was probably one of the largest you could get, and yet it was still full of clothes. Her outfits mainly consisted of skinny jeans and tube tops.

Shadow chuckled. Her apartment reflected her personality completely. He soon noticed another door, but it was locked.

He shrugged and sat on one of the couches, waiting for Rouge and Knuckles to get in.

After a few minutes of waiting, they came through the door. Rouge walked up to Shadow and hold out her hand. Shadow looked confused.

Rouge sighed. "Key, please."

"Oh." Shadow quickly handed it back.

"Thanks Hun." She said as she put it on a small coffee table. "So, do you like my apartment?"

"Yeah, but surely it costed you a fortune!" He replied.

"It would've done but... G.U.N. owed me a lot of favors so they agreed to decorate my apartment for me." She explained.

Knuckles stretched and yawned. "I'm kinda sleepy. Maybe we should go to bed."

Rouge nodded. "Hmm, I guess so." She turned to Shadow. "I'll set up a couch for you."

Shadow nodded. "Alright."

Knuckles chuckled. "I have to sleep on a couch too. Rouge still hasn't got me a bed yet."

"Don't you need blankets?"

Knuckled scoffed. "I've been sleeping outside nearly all my life, in any weather."

Shadow shrugged. "I guess. I just want to be comfortable."

Rouge came back with a pillow and a blanket. "Here ya go!"

"Thanks..."

"It's okay! Just make sure you get some rest. It's been a busy night."

"...You're not my mother." Shadow joked.

Rouge rolled her eyes. "I know that! I'm just saying." She walked out of the room.

Knuckles lied down. "When you're ready, could you turn out the lights? They're right next to you."

Shadow looked to his left and saw the switch. "Yeah, sure."

He set up a bed and turned out the lights.

Knuckles yawned. "G'night."

"...'Night." Shadow replied.

He slowly closed his eyes and thought about the hooded figures. He felt tired though, and soon a black wave washed over him and he fell asleep.

* * *

Ooooh, who could the figures be? Yeah I know, not much in this chapter but this _is_ the introduction. They have a habit of being short and boring. If you liked it, please tell me! I don't know if I should continue it. I'm having a bit of a writers block with Sonic Truth Or Dare Tournament, so please bear with me. So um, I'll try to update this and the other one as soon as possible! Thanks for reading and I promise future chapters will be longer!


	2. Chapter 2 Revelations

**Crystals Of Tranquility**

* * *

Thank you to my loyal readers and reviewers, Cheetay and Patrich11! You've always reviewed and read my stories, and have been there right from the start! Cheers!

Ahem, now last chapter was a little bit boring and short but this chapter is interesting and longer! Enjoy!

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Sonic Team, only my OCs._

* * *

Chapter 2. Revelations

A ray of gentle dawn light, flowed into the living room of Rouge's apartment. Shadow's eyes flickered open at the sight of it. He groaned slightly, and proceeded to stretch his numb muscles. Knuckles stirred in his sleep and gradually woke up.

He yawned. "Mornin' Shadow."

Shadow sat up on the couch. "Yeah, you too."

Knuckles got up and began to walk to the door. He then stop dead in his tracks and sniffed. He sniffed for a few seconds, then stopped. A huge smile appeared on his face.

"Cooked breakfast! Sausage, bacon, eggs... and all that stuff!" He ran into the kitchen.

Shadow rolled his eyes and followed Knuckles. He found Rouge in the kitchen, making breakfast.

"G'mornin' Shadow!" Rouge greeted. "I'm making some breakfast, is that okay?"

He nodded and sat at the table. Knuckles was already sitting there, looking hungrily at the nearly cooked food.

"Mmmm..." Knuckles said to himself.

Rouge finished the cooking and set the food on the table. "Breakfast is served!"

Knuckles quickly gobbled the food down and was finished in less than two minutes. Rouge decided to take her time, the club didn't open on Mondays.

"It tastes good." Shadow mumbled.

Rouge smiled. "Everyone tends to say that!" She laughed.

Knuckles shrugged. "But it's true!"

They finished their breakfast and were soon sitting in the living room, thinking about what they should do.

"How about we go shopping?" Rouge suggested.

The men slowly shuffled to the door.

Rouge pouted. "Fine, we won't go shopping!"

"What about going to the chao garden? I need to check on my chao, Crimson!" Knuckles asked.

Shadow shrugged. "I need to see how my chao is getting on too, I guess. He's probably missed me..."

Rouge nodded. "Okay! I wanna see how Sparkle is doing."

"Then let's go!" Knuckles called as he ran out of the room.

* * *

Soon, they were in the chao garden. It was very pretty. There was a small waterfall flowing into a lake, and the water was crystal clear and it shimmered in the sun. There were palm trees with fresh ripe coconuts. There were flower patches around with the prettiest flowers you've ever seen. There were all sorts of coloured flowers; pink, red, yellow, purple, everything.

Soon, three chao came running up to them. The first was a red chao that looked similar to Knuckles, it was even starting to grow dreadlocks! It was a hero chao. The second was a black chao, identical to Shadow. It had black spines with red streaks coming out of its head. It was a dark chao. The third was a white chao with large ears and lilac highlights. It was a neutral chao.

"C'mere Crimson!" Knuckles called to the red chao.

"Hiya Sparkle! Have you been good?" Rouge asked the white one.

"...Hey Onyx." Shadow mumbled to the black chao.

Rouge began to feed Sparkle some food. "Do you want a coconut?" She asked, handing her a slice.

Sparkle started to look a bit queasy. She shook her head. "Chao-ao."

Rouge frowned. "Huh? Are you feeling ill?"

Sparkle just sat on the ground, looking unhappy.

Meanwhile, Shadow and Knuckles were having the same problem.

"Onyx, you have to eat!" Shadow said.

"Just take a bite, Crimson!" Knuckles begged.

Onyx was pacing around, looking unhappy like Sparkle. Crimson was punching the wall, looking equally unhappy.

Shadow looked around, noticing that all the chao were doing the same. There was no longer a cheerful atmosphere, now there was a sad one.

"There's something wrong." Shadow muttered. He closed his eyes.

"Sparkle won't even eat her favourite fruit!" Rouge wailed.

Knuckles nodded. "Same with Crimson. I've tried everything!"

Suddenly, Shadow's eyes snapped open. He then flinched and held his head in pain.

"Gah!"

Rouge rushed up to him. "Shadow! Shadow? Are you okay?"

Shadow groaned. "Arrgghh..."

He stumbled around, trying to find his balance. The world spun around him, and he felt very dizzy and sick.

Knuckles ran up to him and supported him. But it was too much pain for Shadow to handle. The world then began to get black, and he fell unconscious.

* * *

About half an hour later...

Shadow's eyes slowly opened. He saw a blurry picture of someone staring down at him.

"Shadow?" The voice asked. "Knuckles! He's waking up!"

Shadow began to see clearly, and saw that the person he saw was Rouge. He yawned and stretched. He rubbed his head.

"Wha-what happened?" He asked groggily.

Rouge looked at him, concerned. "We were in the chao garden, then you got all dizzy and fell unconscious!"

He closed his eyes, trying to think. "Ah! Now I remember!" He said. "Our chao weren't eating, right?"

Rouge nodded. "Yeah..."

Knuckles walked into the room. "And Sleeping Beauty awakes!"

"...Shut up." Shadow said.

Knuckles frowned. "I was only joking! Geez, you don't have to be so-" Shadow slapped his hand over Knuckle's mouth.

"No, really, shut up! I need to concentrate, you idiot!"

Shadow closed his eyes and concentrated. His eyes snapped open.

"There's something wrong... something _very_ wrong." He said.

"What is it?" Rouge asked.

"The atmosphere, it's... _changed_." He replied. "Well, more like there's some sort of disturbance."

Knuckles looked confused. "A disturbance? Like when the emeralds have been damaged or something?"

Shadow nodded. "Precisely."

"B-but we have all of the emeralds! We established that yesterday!" Rouge interrupted.

"Yes, but the emeralds don't really do this sort of damage to the atmosphere." He replied.

"Well, what else can do _'this sort of damage'_?" Knuckles asked.

Shadow stared into space. Something then dawned on him. "I know what could. The tranquility crystals!"

Rouge frowned. "What are they?"

"They are similar to the chaos emeralds." Shadow explained. "But, the tranquility crystals help keep the world in balance. Without them, the world will perish. The seas will dry up, the oxygen will disappear... everything. No-one would survive. Except maybe me."

"Are things seriously out of balance right now!?" Rouge asked, panicking.

He shook his head. "No. It's only slightly. Not much damage has been done yet."

Knuckles gasped. "That's why all the chao were acting strange! They could sense it!"

Shadow nodded. "Yes, chao are very sensitive to things like that."

"So what's wrong with the crystals?" Rouge asked.

He frowned. "They must be damaged, or away from the shrine. They need to be there at all times. That's why they have a guardian. Just like Knuckles _was_ the guardian of the master emerald."

"Well, what could we do?" Knuckles asked.

"It's pretty simple actually. We go and visit the shrine, to find out what's wrong."

Rouge raised an eyebrow. "And just where is the shrine?"

"In a secret area. I know where it is, I'll just chaos control there."

"Then let's go!" Knuckles said impatiently.

"Fine, just hold onto me." They grabbed his arm. "Chaos control!"

There was a flash of light, and they were gone.

* * *

They appeared in a forest type place. There were lots of trees, and in a small clearing there was a shrine. It had one small gem on it.

Suddenly, a brown fox jumped down from a tree and landed right next to them. She had long brown hair and green eyes. She was wearing a yellow tube top and a mini skirt, with yellow sandals. A ball of fire appeared in her hands.

"Who are you!?" She demanded.

She then relaxed when she saw Shadow.

"Oh, it's only you." She smiled. "Hi! Who are your friends?"

"Hello. This is Rouge and Knuckles." Shadow replied.

"Hiya! I'm Hazelnut, the guardian of the tranquility crystals!" She looked at the floor sadly. "At least, I _was_."

"What happened? I noticed a disturbance in the atmosphere." Shadow asked. "And where are the rest of the crystals?"

"Well... I woke up this morning, and I saw this bright flash of green light. So, of course, I ran to the shrine. But when I got there, the crystals were gone!" She wailed. "I saw a hooded figure leaving but I could catch him or her. They seemed to have teleported away!"

Rouge gasped. "I saw hooded figures too! At my club!"

"They must be trouble... I wonder who they are..." Hazelnut trailed off.

"Could we go and look for the crystals?" Shadow asked.

Hazelnut nodded. "Yes, but according to the code of the guardians, I have to let the crystal of approval decide who gets to go."

"What's the crystal of approval?" Rouge asked.

"It's this crystal around my neck, see? It shows that I'm the guardian." She replied. "I'll just find out for you." She wrapped her hand around the crystal, and closed her eyes.

After a minute, she opened them.

"Two people have been chosen." She said. "Shadow and Rouge, you are permitted to find them."

"Couldn't you look for them?" Knuckles asked.

She shook her head. "No... I have to stay here. I'm not permitted to leave, unless absolutely necessary."

"Do you know where abouts the crystals are?" Shadow asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, that's what makes it so frustrating. I know where they are, but I can't go and look for them!"

"You can use telepathy, can't you?" He asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"You could talk to me via telepathy, then I would know where to look!"

She grinned. "Good idea!"

"So, where is the first one?" Rouge asked.

"It's on an island, just a few minutes away from Emerald Coast. " She replied. "I could give you a map, if you like."

Shadow shook his head. "I'll find it."

"Okay then. I suppose you'd better be on your way. I'll teleport you home, Knuckles." Hazelnut said, looking at Knuckles.

Knuckles nodded. "Thanks." He turned to Shadow and Rouge. "Good luck guys, I can sense you'll need it."

Shadow smirked cockily. "Thanks, but I'm sure we'll be fine!"

Hazelnut shook her head. "You're still the same, huh?"

"You bet I am."

She frowned. "You need to be careful. Who knows what dangers may face you..."

He rolled his eyes. "Can you just let us go now? We need to be very quick."

Hazelnut sighed. "Yeah, a race against time..." She turned to Knuckles. "Are you happy to go now?"

Knuckles nodded.

"Good... Bye then!" She said. A ball of light flowed around Knuckles.

"Bye! Hope you find them!" And with that, he disappeared.

Hazelnut turned to Shadow and Rouge. "I can teleport you to Emerald Coast, if you'd like."

Shadow shook his head. "I'd rather use chaos control."

She shrugged. "Fine, I guess."

"I'll speak to you soon. Bye." Shadow said.

"See ya!" Rouge called.

Hazelnut grinned. "Bye then!"

"Chaos control!" With a blinding flash, they were gone.

She sighed. "I hope they'll be okay..."

* * *

Shadow and Rouge appeared on Emerald Coast a few seconds later. Shadow looked around.

"I suggest we hire a speed boat." He finally said.

Rouge pouted. "I'm gonna get wet, aren't I?"

He looked at her like she was crazy. "You're about to go on a long journey, and you're worried about getting slightly wet?"

She giggled. "Yes!"

He sighed. "Come on, I can see a shop over there." He pointed to a small shop.

Rouge began to walk over there. "I hope they sell bikinis!"

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Duh, it's a shop on the beach. Of course they're going to have swimwear!"

When they got there, Rouge went into the bikini section and went to try them on in the changing rooms. Shadow however, went up to the desk.

"Do you have any speed boats we can hire?" He asked the man.

The man nodded. "Yes, do you want to have a look?"

"Okay then."

They went round to the back of the shop, where the boats were.

"Just pick one. They have a price tag on them. But they're not too expensive." The man told Shadow.

Meanwhile, Rouge had found a bikini her size. It was a white and purple striped one. She looked for Shadow.

"Hey, Shadow!"

He came back with a ticket for a speed boat.

"You called?"

"Oh, I was just wondering where you were, that's all." She replied.

"Hmm, well I found a speed boat. I just need to pay for it."

She smiled. "That's good then!"

The shopkeeper walked up to Shadow. "Did you find one you liked?"

He nodded and handed him the ticket.

"Okay, that would be $90 for the whole day."

Shadow handed him the money and ran to the boats. He dragged the one he paid for, and put it in the water.

"Hop on!" He shouted to Rouge.

Rouge got onto the boat and held onto Shadow. "I'm on!"

He revved the engine, and they sped off.

'Hazelnut! Can you hear me?' Shadow called out in his thoughts.

'Loud and clear!' Came the reply. 'Very loud, in fact!'

'What direction do we have to go in?'

'North, for a few minutes. You should find an island with a forest on it.' She replied.

'Got it, thanks.' Shadow said.

'Okay, over and out!'

Shadow blinked and focused on the boat. "We have to go north, according to Hazelnut. We should find an island with a forest on it." He told Rouge.

"Mmmhm, okay." She replied.

* * *

Soon, they stopped at an island. It was covered by a huge forest.

"This looks like it." Shadow said.

Rouge nodded. "Why don't you ask Hazelnut where the crystal is?"

"Okay, just don't distract me." He replied.

'Hey, Shadow! I see you're there. Right, there's a cave on the east side of this island. You should find the crystal there. It's the pink one.' Hazelnut told him.

'Thanks.' He replied.

"We have to go east!" Shadow said.

"This island is huge though!" Rouge moaned.

He sighed. "Jump onto my back."

"Uh, okay?" She jumped onto his back. "I'm on!"

Shadow ran off with Rouge on his back. It took a few minutes to finally find the cave.

"I think this is it." He said, examining the cave.

"It's um, pretty dark in there." Rouge noticed.

"Humph, I'll use my chaos energy to light the way." Shadow walked into the cave.

"H-hey! Wait for meee!" Rouge called as she ran after him.

They walked for a minute, with Shadow lighting the way. A circle of light was appearing the distance.

"Look! Light!" Rouge said.

Shadow grabbed Rouge's arm. "Come on, let's go."

They ran into the light. They found themselves in a part of the cave where the roof had come off. In the centre of the area, the pink crystal stood on a small pillar.

Shadow walked up to it. "This is too easy!"

As soon as he touched it, a hooded figure appeared next to him.

"You spoke too soon." The voice hissed.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Rouge asked.

The figure snapped its head towards her. "I will let you know my name. Thorn, and I'm going to take this crystal!"

Rouge ran up to him. "Oh no you're not!"

Thorn stuck out a hand and shot an energy beam at her.

"Gah!"

"Rouge! Are you okay?" Shadow asked.

"Ugh, yeah."

Thorn chuckled evilly. "There's no way you can defeat me. You're weaklings!"

Shadow growled.

He smirked. "You doubt it?"

"Yes! I challenge you to a fight!" Shadow yelled.

Thorn got into a fighting stance. "Bring it on!"

* * *

So we know who one of the figures are! Review if you like it! I hope to get the next chapter up soon so look out for it! Thanks for reading!

P.S. I just love cliffhangers! =P


	3. Chapter 3 Fight, fight, fight!

**Crystals Of Tranquility**

* * *

_Yay, I updated! Yeah, still no update for Sonic Truth Or Dare Tournament... I'll get to it soon, I promise! Right, now in this chapter there is the fight between Thorn and Shadow! Enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 3. Fight, fight, fight!

Thorn got into a fighting stance. "Bring it on!"

"Ladies first!" Shadow replied.

He smirked. "I assume you're talking about yourself? Go on then!"

Shadow snarled and charged at him. Thorn stood there, not fazed. Just when he was going to connect, he flipped to the side, letting Shadow almost crash into a boulder.

Shadow cursed under his breath. "You'll regret that." He muttered.

Thorn looked at him. "It's a pity you can't even aim."

This got Shadow even more determined to beat him. He held his hand out. "Chaos beam!"

A beam of pure chaos energy shot out of his hand. Thorn was caught off guard, and was slammed into the back of the cave.

He soon jumped out and landed on the ground. While still crouching, he placed his hand on the ground. "Hell serpent!"

A green stalk shot out of the ground next to Shadow. He tried to dodge, but it wrapped around his feet. "Augh! Get off!"

It began to wrap itself around his legs and soon his torso. Shadow was struggling to get out, but his efforts were making no difference. Then it stopped wrapping around him.

"Squeeze." Thorn whispered.

It slowly began to tighten around Shadows lungs, squeezing the air out of him. Shadow was slowly turning red and dizzy, because of lack of oxygen. "C-chaos con-control!" He whispered.

He teleported out of the plant-like thing and next to the fallen Rouge, gasping for air.

Thorn just smirked. "Aw, did I choke you?"

Shadow scowled. After recovering, he jumped into the air, out of sight. Confused, Thorn looked around for him. Shadow landed silently behind him. He used an upper kick to launch Thorn nto the air.

"Woah!" Thorn shouted, surprised.

Shadow leaped after him. "Take this!" He yelled as he launched a punch into his cheek.

Thorn growled. "Hell missile!"

Green homing missiles flew towards Shadow, who flew in different directions to dodge them. Unfortunately, one of them managed to hit him in the back. "Gah!" Shadow shouted as it exploded.

"Humph! That's what you get for messing with me!" Thorn said.

They were now battling in the air, launching punches and kicks at each other.

"Chaos blast!" Shadow finally yelled. He hovered, looking calm, because he knew what was going to happen when the blast impacted on Thorn.

"Hell shield!" Thorn shouted. Sure enough, a shield appeared, protecting him from the blast.

Shadow's eyes widened in confusion. "What!? How did you block it? It's meant to destroy anything!"

Thorn smirked. "Guess you haven't met me before then!" He turned around.

Shadow growled and jumped onto his back, bringing him to the floor.

Thorn just rolled his eyes. "Stupid fool, falling for my tricks. Hell blade!"

A blade appeared in Thorn's back and sliced into Shadow. "Uuuuggghhh!" He groaned in pain. Blood was gushing out of the stab wound, staining the ground.

Thorn threw him off his back. "Give up yet?"

Shadow just shook his head. "Chaos heal!" His wound healed instantly.

Thorn didn't look fazed. He dashed up to Shadow and roundhoused kicked his cheek.

Shadow held his cheek, growing impatient. 'Why can't he just give up?'

Hazelnut's voice flowed into his head. 'His element is water, use your head to figure out the rest.'

Shadow looked confused. His element is water? That means... I can defeat him with fire! He held out a hand in the direction of Thorn.

"Whatcha gonna do? Use another chaos blast?" Thorn mocked him.

Shadow growled. "Far from it actually. Chaos volcano!"

A loud rumble echoed through the cave. A small spurt of an orange liquid came through the ground, but Thorn didn't notice. An extremely loud rumble came from beneath him. It stopped for a second. "Is that it? A noise!?" Thorn laughed.

A huge blast of orange liquid erupted underneath him, tossing him into the air. It was hot, burning, lava. A hissing sound came from Thorn, he was getting weak. "Graah!" He yelled.

Shadow just smirked. "Now who's getting beaten?"

"You may have won this round, but I'll be back!" He threatened and he teleported away to an unknown location, leaving the crystal behind.

Shadow let the lava disappear and ran up to Rouge, who was now unconcsious. "Chaos heal!" Rouge's injuries healed instantly, and she woke up

"Ugh." She groaned and looked up at Shadow. "Shadow? Where am I?"

"In the cave. I defeated Thorn." He replied, picking her up and standing her onto the ground.

Rouge smiled. "That's good. Let's get that crystal then."

Shadow walked over to the pillar and picked up the pink crystal.

"It's so pretty." Rouge said, looking at it.

"Hm, but you can't keep these." Shadow replied.

Rouge rolled her eyes. "Duh, I know that."

"C'mon, let's get back to Emerald Coast." Shadow said, walking away.

* * *

Soon, they were back at the familiar beach.

"I'm gonna put this back." Shadow mumbled, leaving Rouge next to a snack bar.

Sitting at the snack bar, was Knuckles.

"Heya Knuckles!" Rouge called.

He turned around. "Hey Rouge! Have you got the crystal?"

Rouge sat down next to him and nodded. "Yeah, Shadow has it. We also encountered an enemy."

"Who was it?"

Rouge shrugged. "Some guy named Thorn. Didn't see what he looked like. He was one of the hooded figures, I think. At least, he was wearing a cloak."

Knuckles frowned. "So they are trouble."

Shadow walked over. "Humph, they're definitely trouble, no doubt about it."

"So what happened? Did you fight?"

Shadow nodded. "Yeah, and I won."

Knuckles smirked. "Good man!"

Rouge grew serious. "But we still don't know much about them..."

"Well, next time we encounter one, we'll question them." Shadow replied.

* * *

Meanwhile in a dark cave in an unknown location...

Two figures were sitting on thrones. One was male and one was female, they appeared to be partners and they were both cats.

The male was a dark navy blue colour, and had black flame designs twisting around his arms, legs and ears. He had blood red eyes, and was wearing black and red robes.

The female was a dark purple colour, and had the same black flame designs. She had cold ice blue eyes, and was wearing a short black and red dress.

Suddenly, Thorn came through a door and bowed.

"Did you succeed?" The male cat asked.

Thorn bent down and trembled. "No Master, sorry Master. The hedgehog was too strong... he somehow knew my element was water and used it against me, defeating me with fire..."

The purple cat growled. "How could you fail? We trusted you to get that crystal, it's necessary for our plans!"

Thorn lowered his head. "P-please forgive me Mistress and Master... I promise I'll do better next time!"

The navy cat shook his head. "No, there will be no next time. We will send someone else out. You will train more. It seems you need it."

"You are dismissed." The purple cat said.

Thorn nodded and bowed, then proceeded to leave the room.

* * *

Shadow looked at the clock at the snack bar. "Come on Rouge, we have to return this crystal to the shrine."

Rouge nodded. "Okay... bye for now then, Knuckles."

Knuckles nodded. "Hm, see ya."

Shadow took Rouge's arm and in a flash of light, they were gone.

They appeared at the shrine. Hazelnut jumped up. "Hiya guys!"

"Hi Hazelnut." Shadow said.

Rouge smiled. "We got the crystal!"

Hazelnut nodded. "Can I have it, Shadow?"

He handed it to her. She walked over to the shrine and placed it on a small pillar.

"That's the crystal of love back safe." She said. "The next one is the crystal of wind. It's in the Windy Hills. It's also the grey one."

Shadow nodded. "Got it."

Rouge sighed. "I hope we don't meet more of the hooded figures."

He shook his head. "They're really annoying me now."

Hazelnut frowned. "You will be seeing more of them. A lot more."

"Can you tell us who they are?" Rouge asked.

She shook her head. "No, sorry. You must find out yourselves, otherwise I'll get into big trouble for messing with fate."

"We'd better rest here for now" Shadow said. "We'll sleep for a few minutes, then travel by night."

Rouge nodded. "Sounds like a plan." She turned to Hazelnut. "Would it be okay?"

"Of course. I'll do all I can to help." Hazelnut replied. "I have a small hut here, if you would rather sleep indoors."

Shadow shook his head. "I'm fine out here."

Rouge however, was walking to the hut. "Yes, thanks!"

Hazelnut sat down next to the shrine and let herself fall asleep too, as she was going to be helping them through the night.

* * *

Later, at sunset...

Shadow woke up to see the sun slowly sinking beneath the trees. He got up and went into the hut to find Rouge.

He shook her. "Rouge. Rouge! It's time to wake up!"

Rouge groaned. "Five more minutes..."

He rolled his eyes. "C'mon!"

"Geez, no need to be so grumpy." Rouge said as she sat up and yawned.

"Well we need to get them as quickly as possible."

She hopped out of the bed. "Fine, let's go and get Hazelnut."

Hazelnut was pacing next to the shrine. 'What should I do?' She thought. 'Do I tell them? But then I'll get into trouble! Aarrgghh, I hate these restrictions!'

"Heya Hazelnut!" Rouge called.

"Oh! Um, hi." She replied.

Shadow frowned. "What's wrong?"

She sighed. "Um, nothing, nothing's wrong!" She put on a fake smile.

Shadow was still curious but let it drop. "We need to get going now."

Hazelnut nodded. "Of course... I'll speak to you soon."

Rouge smiled. "Let's go get that crystal!"

"Chaos control!" Shadow shouted, and they were gone.

* * *

They appeared in an area that was very windy. There weren't any trees, just lots of hills.

'Hey Shadow. The crystal is in a cave just like the one before. It's to the north of here.' Hazelnut's voice drifted into Shadow's head.

"Let's go find that cave." Shadow said, putting Rouge onto his back.

He sped off in the direction of the cave. Soon they came to it and Shadow lit the way again.

"Do you think one of the figures will show up?" Rouge asked.

"It's very likely. Thorn said he'd be back..." Shadow trailed off.

Soon they came to the same area of the cave like last time. The roof was off again and the crystal was in the centre of the room.

Rouge went up to the crystal and quickly took it. However, she didn't notice there was someone in the shadows, waiting for the right moment.

They suddenly jumped and knocked the crystal out of Rouge's hands.

"Hey!" Rouge yelled.

The figure smirked. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I take your crystal? Too bad!" They said in a feminine voice.

"Grrr... give it back!" Rouge shouted as she roundhouse kicked the figure in the head. "Who are you and what are you!?"

The figure held her head. "They call me Eclipse and as for what I am, is none of your business. What you might like to know, is that I am the world's best treasure hunter. You're not."

This made Rouge angry. "Tornado kick!" She repeatedly kicked Eclipse, landing a few hits.

Eclipse rolled her eyes. "Is that all you've got? Hell unfocus!"

Rouge began to get very dizzy, the world seemed to be spinning around her.

Eclipse proceeded to land multiple kicks and punches on her.

Rouge fell to the ground, the dizziness getting too much.

Shadow stepped in. "Chaos spears!" He yelled quickly.

Eclipse flipped several times, trying to avoid them. One hit her in the back.

"Gah!" She fell to the ground, groaning in pain. "Grr..."

Shadow stood over her angrily. "Hand over the crystal. You're defeated."

She shook her head. "No, not yet. Amy, do your thing!"

"Amy?" Shadow asked, confused. "Huh?"

"You called?" A voice rang out.

Shadow turned around quickly. There he saw Amy Rose, with her hammer in her hand. She looked different. She had red eyes, and if you looked very closely, you could see two tiny horns coming out of her head. Her hair was different. It was long and curly, with red streaks. Her clothes had changed too. She was wearing a black t-shirt, black skinny jeans and black knee-high boots. A long red tail began to grow out from her.

"A-Amy? What are you doing here? And why are you... different?" Shadow asked.

Amy smirked. "What am I doing here? I'm here to kill you, of course. And my Master brought out the best side off me!"

Shadow turned to Eclipse, growling. "What have you done!?"

She shrugged. "Turned her into one of us. It was her own free will, we didn't force her to do anything."

"You're lying!" He hissed.

Amy ran up to him, swinging her hammer. "You talk too much, now to shut you up!"

She swung it at him before he could react. It hit him it the back and he went flying in the air. "Woah!"

She ran up to where he was about to fall. When he hit the ground, she pulled out a gun and pointed it at him.

"Any last words?" She asked.

Shadow nodded.

"Say them then."

"Chaos control!" He yelled.

Amy spun around, looking for him. "What?"

He appeared, running up to her. She didn't have time to pull the trigger before he kicked it out of her hands.

"Hmph! Don't mess with me." He muttered.

Amy backed away slowly, moving to Eclipse. "Maybe we should just give up?" She whispered to her.

She nodded. Neither of them were fit to fight. "Fine, take your crystal! But mark my words, we'll be back!"

Shadow smirked. "And we'll defeat you again."

Eclipse and Amy growled, then teleported away.

Rouge groaned and got up. "I thought I saw Amy, she looked different. What happened to her?"

Shadow lowered his head. "I know what they are, Rouge." He whispered.

"What? Who are they?"

He stared at her. "Demons. Demons, and they turned Amy into one too!"

Rouge's eyes widened. "Demons!?" She shrieked. "Demons were in my club!? And they turned Amy into a demon too? No! Demons can't be real, they're just myths!"

He shook his head. "No, they're real all right. We've been fighting them."

"D-does Hazelnut know too?" She asked.

Shadow shrugged. "Probably. She's not aloud to tell us these thing though. It could mess with fate."

Rouge sighed. "Now what do we do?"

"We do the same as before, collect them crystals."

"And Amy?"

He looked down. "I really don't know what we're going to do."

Rouge sniffed. "They might kill her though. And feast on her blood!"

Shadow chuckled. "They're not vampires, Rouge. And anyway, if they've changed her, they won't kill her. She's a part of their army now."

"Well that's just wonderful, isn't it? She might die fighting, and we'll never see her again."

He sighed. "Let's just go to the shrine and put this back. We'll ask Hazelnut what to do, though she probably won't tell us much."

Rouge nodded. "Okay. But I promise I won't leave Amy with those Demon Freaks!"

"Chaos control!"

* * *

They appeared back at the shrine once again. Hazelnut was pacing again.

"Hey Hazelnut." Rouge called sadly.

Hazelnut looked up. "Oh, um, hey Rouge, Shadow."

Shadow frowned. "You knew, didn't you?"

She nodded and sighed. "Yes. I wasn't allowed to tell you though. I would've done if I could..."  
"Can you tell us how to save her?" Rouge asked.

Hazelnut paused for a minute. She then nodded. "I guess so. Basically, you have to first collect all the crystals, then go to their castle and defeat them. It will be a big challenge though."  
"Would we die?" Shadow asked.

She shrugged. "Maybe. I can't see what happens. Sometimes I can't see major events, it's like a cloud is hiding it."

He sighed. "But you wouldn't be able to tell us anyway, right?"

Hazelnut shook her head. "Nope."

Rouge shivered. "I'm getting a bad feeling about something..."

Shadow shrugged. "I'm sure it's nothing."

"But it could be everything." Hazelnut winked.

Shadow hissed. "You know, don't you? Tell us!"

Hazelnut stepped back. "I don't know anything! Don't shout at me any more, or I'll make sure to burn you to ashes."

He rolled his eyes. "As if you'd do that."

She lit a flame in her palm. "Wanna bet?"  
"Stop fighting you two!" Rouge interrupted. "You're acting like kids!"

Hazelnut let the flame disappear. "She's right."

Shadow huffed, but didn't make any further comments.

"The next crystal is in Green Hill Zone. You're familiar with the place, yes?" Hazelnut said.

Rouge nodded. "Yeah, it's a really nice place."

Shadow simply nodded.

"Then I'll see you guys tomorrow, okay? Get some rest before you go." She said, before walking off.

Shadow lied down on the ground, and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

_Sorry it took so long to do. I had a truck load of homework, then I went on holiday. Anyway, review if you like it!_


End file.
